Paradise Lost Book 1 Essay Text

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2. is it possible to defend the idea that satan is the true hero of paradise lost. 3. given the contexts of biography, time, and subject, is milton an anti feminist writer? explain. 5. does milton's grand style enhance or detract from the power of his story? be sure to consider ideas from both sides of this argument. Previous full glossary for paradise lost book i of paradise lost begins with a prologue in which milton performs the traditional epic task of invoking the muse and stating his purpose. He invokes the classical muse, urania, but also refers to her as the heav'nly muse, implying the christian nature of this work.

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He also says that the poem will deal with man's disobedience toward god and the results of that disobedience. He concludes the prologue by saying he will attempt to justify god's ways to men. Following the prologue and invocation, milton begins the epic with a description of satan, lying on his back with the other rebellious angels, chained on a lake of fire. Satan, who had been lucifer, the greatest angel, and his compatriots warred against god. Lying on the lake, satan is described as gigantic he is compared to a titan or the leviathan. Satan comments on how beelzebub has been transformed for the worse by the punishment of god. Still he adds that it is his intention to continue the struggle against god, saying, better to reign in hell than serve in heaven 263.

With effort, satan is able to free himself from his chains and rise from the fire. From the plain, satan calls the other fallen angels to join him, and one by one they rise from the lake and fly to their leader. As they come, milton is able to list the major devils that now occupy hell: moloch, chemos, baalem, ashtaroth, astarte, astoreth, dagon, rimmon, osiris, isis, orus, mammon, and belial. These fallen angels think that they have escaped from their chains through their own power, but milton makes it clear that god alone has allowed them to do this. This devil army is large and impressive but also aware of its recent ignominious defeat. He tells them that they still have power and that their purpose will be to oppose god, adding, war then, war / open or understood, must be resolv'd 661 62.

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This speech inspires the devil host, and under mammon's direction, they immediately begin work on a capital city for their hellish empire. They find mineral resources in the mountains of hell and quickly begin to construct a city. Under the direction of their architect, mulciber, they construct a great tower that comes to symbolize the capital of hell, pandemonium. When the work is done and the capital completed, they all assemble for the first great council.

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Milton begins paradise lost in the traditional epic manner with a prologue invoking the muse, in this case urania, the muse of astronomy. He calls her the heav'nly muse 7 and says that he will sing of man's first disobedience 1 , the story of adam and eve and their fall from grace. As the prologue continues, it becomes apparent that this muse is more than just the classical urania, but also a christian muse who resides on mt.

In these first lines, milton thus draws on two traditions the classical epic exemplified by homer and virgil and the christian tradition embodied in the bible as well as dante's divine comedy and edmund spenser's the faerie queene. Milton further emphasizes in the prologue that his theme will be man's disobedience to god's will, implying not only adam's disobedience, but all mankind from first to last. He does add that his subject will include the greater man 4 who saved all others from the original disobedience. Moreover, his intention will be to justify the ways of god to men 26 through the aid of eternal providence 25. By justify, milton means more than simply to explain he means that he will demonstrate that god's actions in regard to man are just.

This goal suggests that milton was not bothered by any sense of false modesty, an idea underscored by his statement that he will write in a high style and attempt a purpose never tried before. The one truly poignant line in this prologue is milton's request of the muse, what in me is dark / illumine 22 23 , with its oblique reference to milton's blindness, a subject he will return to more directly in the prologue that begins book i. At no point in this prologue and invocation does milton mention satan, who, though he is the main character of the poem, is not the actual subject. Following the invocation and prologue, milton continues in the epic style by beginning in medias res. That a great religious epic focuses on satan, presents him first, and in many ways makes him the hero of the poem is certainly surprising and something of a risk on milton's part.

Milton does not want his audience to empathize with satan, yet satan is an attractive character, struggling against great odds. Of course, milton's original audience more than his modern one would have been cognizant of the ironies involved in satan's struggles and his comments concerning power. His power to act derives only from god, and his struggle against god has already been lost. To the modern audience, satan may seem heroic as he struggles to make a heaven of hell, but the original audience knew, and milton's lines confirm, that satan's war with god had been lost absolutely before the poem begins. God grants satan and the other devils the power to act for god's purposes, not theirs. As the poem progresses, the reader will see that satan's character and appearance grow worse.

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